{"id":80542,"date":"2019-09-09T16:13:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T23:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=80542"},"modified":"2019-09-09T16:13:29","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T23:13:29","slug":"why-these-five-outdoor-lovers-embraced-remote-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/why-these-five-outdoor-lovers-embraced-remote-work","title":{"rendered":"Why These Five Outdoor Lovers Embraced Remote Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cassie Abel, age 36, had a decision to make. She was working at her dream job in Sun Valley, Idaho, when her company announced they were relocating their headquarters to Portland, Oregon. If she wanted to keep her job, she\u2019d have to move.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abel\u2019s choice felt fraught. She loved Sun Valley\u2019s community feel and proximity to public lands. (Nine percent of Idaho\u2019s 53.5 million acres are protected with a wilderness designation, according to the <\/span>Idaho Conservation League<\/span><\/a>.) \u201cSun Valley has this calm pace of life and I feel really supported here,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a four-season mountain destination, and you can\u2019t find a better trail network for mountain biking and camping.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Did she mention the backcountry skiing? It\u2019s also great, and the mountains often feel relatively empty. Sun Valley also has a lot of big city amenities for a small town, Abel says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really special place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was this love of the outdoors\u2014and Sun Valley, in particular\u2014that eventually led Abel to make a choice that was counter to every decision she\u2019d ever made in her life up to that point: to leave her dream job and stay in Sun Valley. \u201cIt was the scary choice, with so much unknown,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After quitting her job, Abel went on to launch <\/span>White Cloud Communication<\/span><\/a>, a marketing consulting company. She founded\u00a0<\/span>Wild Rye<\/span><\/a>, a <\/span>women\u2019s outdoor gear company<\/span><\/a>, several months later. Both function remotely but are based out of Sun Valley, so she can travel whenever and wherever she pleases. Abel is also the creator of <\/span>Women-Led Wednesday<\/span><\/a>, an annual event that supports businesses owned and led by women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perry Cohen, age 43, understands Abel\u2019s experience firsthand. For 10 years, he worked as the vice president of leadership development and talent management at a corporation in New Hampshire. He often found himself staring out of his office window at the mountains in the distance, yearning for time outside. He was ambivalent about his job but says the thing that really drove him to make a change was his love of the outdoors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, I realized it was no longer good enough to be a weekend warrior, and that no paycheck was worth the confines of this office,\u201d he says. \u201cI left my corporate job and started my own outdoor adventure company, <\/span>The Venture Out Project,<\/span><\/a> where we lead trips for members of the LGBTQ+ community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cohen went from working 60 hours a week in the office to working about 100 hours per week on his passion project. It wasn\u2019t an easy switch, but he says it was much more inspiring to be doing work that really mattered to him, based in the outdoor environments he loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Perry Cohen, the executive founding director of The Venture Out Project, says he used to stare wistfully at mountains from his corporate office. Now, his company leads trips for members of the LGBTQ+ community. (Photo Courtesy: Perry Cohen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Reneice Charles, age 30, has a similar story. The body positivity coach, writer and plus-size model was incredibly burned-out from practicing social work. She says she was covered in hives, struggling to sleep, anxious all the time and \u201cpretty much miserable.\u201d After a trip to the doctor, she determined that her stress had to do mostly with her job. So, she quit. She took a full month off to figure out what she really wanted to do and decided to freelance from home so she\u2019d have the freedom to travel, which she knew would help her mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen money permits, I travel and work from new places,\u201d she says. \u201cTraveling is a major boost to my creativity, so having the ability to work from the comfort of my home most of the time but also be able to pick up and take a road trip or jump on a plane to go somewhere new has been really good for me and my career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And you don\u2019t just have to start your own business to find more time outside. Paulina Dao, 29, chose a different route to the same dream. The software automation engineer lives in San Francisco and works full-time for a tech company\u2014but she never has to go into her office (unless she wants to, of course).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a remote worker since the beginning of May,\u201d Dao says. \u201cI was unhappy at my previous job \u2026 and the opportunity to go fully remote [in this new job] was really exciting for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaping your work to fit your passions<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you love the outdoors, you probably know the feelings Abel, Cohen, Dao and Charles are describing here\u2014of loving a certain place so much that it makes your heart burst a little bit, and of wanting to find freedom in the midst of a brick-and-mortar-bound career that can at times feel stifling and stressful. Maybe it\u2019s about the way the forest smells when the sun bakes the wood, or maybe it\u2019s about having easy access to the trails. Maybe you already live in your favorite place and want to spend more time there, adventuring. Or perhaps you want to make a big change and move to the outdoorsy place of your dreams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever your career trajectory, you\u2019re not alone in your yearning for more time outdoors. Despite the fact that many in the United States have moved to cities in the past few decades, the <\/span>National Association of Realtors<\/span><\/a> found that millennials, specifically, are more apt to move to smaller cities with access to the outdoors, like Salt Lake City and Madison, Wisconsin. In some larger cities, like Seattle and Denver, companies will even use the outdoors as a method of recruitment, offering discounted lift tickets, work trips and extra vacation days as employment incentives.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a 2017 Global Workplace Analytics report, approximately 50 percent of U.S. workers hold jobs that could be compatible with at least partial telework.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This same desire to be closer to nature has in part fueled the rise of remote work. According to a <\/span>Global Workplace Analytics<\/span><\/a> report, the number of remote workers in the United States has increased by 159 percent (not including self-employed workers) since 2005. Now, 4.7 million U.S. employees, like Dao, work from home at least half of the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remote work is becoming especially common in internet-based career paths like web design, software engineering, marketing, social media management, writing and editing. That same <\/span>Global Workplace Analytics<\/span> report found that 50 percent of U.S. workers hold jobs that could be compatible with at least partial telework, or work-from-home capabilities, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pros and cons of remote work<\/span><\/h3>\n

According to a recent <\/span>B<\/span>uffer<\/span> report<\/span><\/a> on the state of remote work, most telecommuters and self-employed workers say their favorite benefit is the freedom to plan their own schedule\u2014a premise Abel wholeheartedly agrees with. She says she often takes her lunch breaks in the mountains. \u201cLunch skis, hikes and bikes are part of my daily life,\u201d she says. \u201cI can go out there, ride the best trails and be back in an hour.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dao agrees, noting that she\u2019s typically online between 9am and 5pm, though her location varies. With her current setup, she has time to hike, climb and throw ceramics during the week. Working remotely also gives her the flexibility to head out early to miss traffic if she wants to go to the mountains for the weekend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Five

Remote workdays can be long. But many telecommuters say they have flexibility to squeeze in a midday hike or sign off a few hours early to beat the traffic ahead of a weekend adventure.<\/p><\/div>\n

Cohen admits to playing hooky to go backpacking, skiing or surfing. Despite his long work hours at other times, this ability to escape is a big benefit of being self-employed. \u201cI get to make my own schedule, run down to the river for a dip in the middle of the day on a whim, take advantage of a powder day or just hang out with my kids if they have a snow day,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remote work can also be a good option for people with diverse lifestyles and interests, like the co-founder of <\/span>Queer Nature<\/span><\/a>, P\u0131nar Ate\u015f Sinopoulos-Lloyd. \u201cAs a nonbinary, neurodivergent person, I quickly realized growing up that the only place I thrived was outside of walls and binaries,\u201d they said. Sinopoulos-Lloyd noticed early on that their nervous system and creativity felt more balanced when they spent time outdoors, so they decided to pursue a freedom-focused career educating people about nature and ancestral skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other benefits to remote work, too. A 2017 <\/span>\u201cState of Telecommuting\u201d<\/span><\/a> report found that remote workers, on average, make more than their in-office counterparts. This may be due to the fact that telecommuters have, on average, obtained higher levels of education than other employees. (Approximately 53% hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to 37% of non-telecommuters.)\u00a0<\/span>The same study found that the majority of people who work remotely don\u2019t think they\u2019ll ever go back to office work, and that remote workers reported feeling closer to their colleagues than those who worked in the same space as their coworkers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the remote workers we spoke with agreed with this data, saying they could never go back to a full-time office job because of the positive health impacts they see in working remotely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love that I can wander the land and connect to place with working remotely since this is an integral ancestral practice for me,\u201d Sinopoulos-Lloyd says. \u201cMy mental health is far more resilient when I am able to be immersed in the natural world more often.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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For P\u0131nar Ate\u015f Sinopoulos-Lloyd, going remote was about choosing work they felt passionate about\u2014and prioritizing health and well-being. (Photo Courtesy: P\u0131nar Ate\u015f Sinopoulos-Lloyd)<\/p><\/div>\n

But while the perks seem plentiful, there are downsides to remote work; one of them is building a routine. Abel says no day is ever the same, which can be a challenge. Dao notes that she\u2019s careful to build structure into her day, just so she feels like she\u2019s doing more than \u201cwalking from the bed to the kitchen to the couch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another struggle, according to Cohen, is the blending of work and life. \u201cThere\u2019s no separation of home and office so if there are dirty dishes or laundry or a sick kid, you can\u2019t avoid it,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to be disciplined to stay at your desk and not go clean up, or run to the grocery store, or watch a movie on the couch with your family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some career paths can be tough to convert into a remote capacity, too. Teaching, for example, typically takes place in a classroom, but more and more, educators are able to find opportunities to work online. Similarly, medical professionals can look for traveling opportunities, or telehealth hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a freelancer, like Charles, there\u2019s also the issue of irregular paychecks and high taxes, given the lack of a set, permanent employer. This chaotic set up can be financially burdensome and often requires a lot of organization and education up front.<\/span><\/p>\n

More Room for Adventures<\/span><\/h3>\n

Despite some of these downsides, the remote workers we spoke with gave rave reviews about building a life that helped them spend more time outside, which in turn seemed to lower their anxiety levels and make them better workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dao recently spent two weeks on the road with another remote worker, driving through Las Vegas, Nevada; Moab, Utah; and Carbondale, Colorado, and eventually ending up in Wyoming, where they went backpacking for three days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abel says she recently left work early to spend a long weekend on the far side of Redfish Lake, although she ends up taking smaller adventures almost every day. \u201cWhat might be a massive adventure for other people, is my way of life,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m a much healthier person here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“What might be a massive adventure for other people, is my way of life,” Cassie Abel says. “I’m a much healthier person here.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sinopoulos-Lloyd frequently adventures with their spouse and they love to spend time wildlife tracking. Recently, they were able to track a mother cougar and her yearling in the <\/span>Jicarilla Apache, Cheyenne and N\u00fau-agha-t\u0289v\u0289-p\u0289\u0331 (Ute) territories.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles recalls making a last-minute, midweek trip to Corvallis, Oregon, from Los Angeles to see the solar eclipse. \u201cIt was the most incredible event I have ever witnessed,\u201d she says. \u201cIt taught me what awesome truly means.\u201d She says this kind of spontaneous trip wouldn\u2019t have been possible if she were still working a 9-to-5 job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cohen was headed on a trip to the Arctic following our conversation, and he spent a portion of last month in Rocky Mountain National Park. \u201cBut some of the best parts of working remotely are that I get to go on small adventures every single day,\u201d he says, agreeing with Abel. \u201cI\u2019ve always been lucky enough to have vacation time for big adventures, but working remotely has given me the freedom to take an hour-long adventure close to home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Take Your Career Remote<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re reading this at your desk and feeling jealous of Abel, Dao, Cohen, Charles and Sinopoulos-Lloyd\u2019s adventures, they have some advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, focus on your values. If you want to make a shift to working remotely in favor of spending more time outside, stick to it and use that love of the outdoors as motivation to make a change. Dao says you can check job boards and sort for remote and telecommuting work opportunities, especially in the tech space. \u201cAnd if they don\u2019t offer that,\u201d she says, \u201cinstead of negotiating for more money, negotiate for more time off or for working from home a few days per week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You can also make yourself appealing to remote employers by showing your telecommuting skills on your resume. You\u2019ll want to highlight things like the ability to work autonomously, as well as showing your experience with communication platforms like Slack, Asana and Zoom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Before applying for remote work, consider how to demonstrate your telecommuting skills. You’ll want to highlight things like your ability to work autonomously.<\/p><\/div>\n

Second, all of the remote workers we spoke with recommended planning your workday and schedule up front, to give yourself structure and keep the set-up sustainable over the long-term. Put on real work clothes and think of yourself as a professional.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, be patient. It can take time to find a job that\u2019s right for you, and that\u2019s okay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may take some time to get your footing to make a full transition,\u201d Sinopoulos-Lloyd says. \u201cTry to remember what\u2019s best for your health and create boundaries around that so you don\u2019t compromise your well-being.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s a learning process,\u201d she says. \u201cBut even the hard parts can be fun if you can learn to enjoy problem solving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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